While Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will go on Friday night, two performers slated to join Seacrest and co-host Liza Koshy live in Times Square have pulled out of the show.
Neither LL Cool J nor Chlöe will be performing on the telecast, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year. In a statement, the hip hop legend said, “I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at NYRE.”
“We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The best is yet to come!” LL added. No reason has been given for Chlöe’s absence.
As of now, the other two Times Square performers — veteran rockers Journey and Latin star Karol G — are still set to perform.
Performers at the Los Angeles party segments of the show include Avril Lavigne, OneRepublic, Masked Wolf, French Montana, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, Macklemore, Polo G, Mae Muller, Måneskin and Walker Hayes. Daddy Yankee will perform from Puerto Rico, while Billy Porter will hold things down in New Orleans.
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest will air on ABC Friday night starting at 8 p.m. ET.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 821,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.9% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-3 Americans testing positive every second
-Fauci recommends against big New Year’s parties
-WHO concerned omicron, delta leading to ‘tsunami’ of cases
-US daily case average nearly triples in 1 month
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 29, 4:01 pm
3 Americans testing positive every second
The U.S. reported more than 1.9 million new cases this week, which equals about three Americans testing positive for COVID-19 every second.
The U.S. is now averaging 277,000 new cases each day, shattering the previous record average from Jan. 11, 2021, which was 250,000 cases each day, according to federal data.
Although this significantly high number is in large part due to the latest surge, it’s also attributable to the soaring demand for tests and backlogs of data following Christmas weekend.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Dec 29, 3:01 pm
30% of New York City’s EMS out on COVID sick leave
In New York City, 30% of emergency medical workers and 17% of firefighters are out on leave tied to COVID-19 — and the fire department is reminding New Yorkers to only call 911 in a true emergency.
“If you are not severely ill, allow first responders to assist those most in need,” the FDNY said in a video message.
Meanwhile, the New York Police Department has canceled regular days off for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 due to COVID-19 and staffing needs for New Year’s Eve.
ABC News’ Mark Crudele, Aaron Katersky
Dec 29, 2:24 pm
4 Smithsonian locations closed
Four Smithsonian locations in Washington, D.C., have closed due to an increase in COVID-19 cases over the last few days.
The four museums — the National Museum of African Art, the National Postal Museum, the Anacostia Community Museum and the National Museum of Asian Art — are expected to reopen Jan. 3.
The Smithsonian said the cases and quarantine periods impacted “essential and operational staff,” so these closures “will allow the Smithsonian to reallocate staff and keep all other museums open for the remainder of the week.”
The Smithsonian closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 and loccations started to reopen in May 2021.
ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Dec 29, 2:00 pm
DC public school students, staff must test before returning to classrooms
All public school students and staff in Washington, D.C., must test when they return to the classroom after winter break.
Free rapid tests will be provided by the city to the over 90,000 students in the largest data collection D.C. has done since the pandemic began, Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
The tests will be distributed on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4. Families are asked to upload results to the city by Jan. 4 at 4 p.m.
“Any student that does not have their results loaded by Jan. 4, will not be allowed to attend school on Jan. 5,” school chancellor Lewis Ferebee told reporters.
Bowser told reporters, “We expect that we’re going to be in this winter surge for a few more weeks, so throughout January we’re going to have to maintain vigilance.”
(NEW YORK) — Following a year of both extreme heat and drought, Lake Tahoe has seen a record-breaking amount of snow this December, according to the U.C. Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab.
The Tahoe area has seen 210 inches of snow since the beginning of the month, the lab, based in Soda Springs, California, reported Wednesday. That makes this month the third snowiest on record and the snowiest December ever, per tracking from the lab that started in 1970.
If weather modeling holds up, it’s possible December could also overtake the current No. 2 record holder, February 2019, which saw a whopping 221 inches of snow, Dr. Andrew Schwartz, who works at the lab, told ABC News.
According to data from the lab, typically about 110 inches of snow will have fallen by Jan. 1 in a given water year, which begins on Oct. 1. But, so far, 2021 has already seen 264 inches of snowfall, putting the region at 258% of its average for this point in the year and breaking the 51-year-old October through December snowfall record of 260 inches set in 1970.
California recorded its second driest water year on record in 2021, according to a report from the state’s Department of Water Resources. But there’s hope that the abnormal amount of snow the Sierra has seen could help break the state’s ongoing drought.
“The snowfall that we’ve received has given us an amazing start to the water year and developed a solid foundation for upcoming snow,” Schwartz said, “but we still need average or above average snowfall in the upcoming months for it to impact the drought.”
Schwartz added that the lab has recorded receiving 70% of its average annual snowfall already, “which is great because the remaining four months with snow only need to make up that remaining 30%.”
He cautioned, however, that if those months end up being dry, then California could end up short of its average snowfall and there won’t be any improvement in the drought at all.
The Sierra snowpack typically holds about a third of California’s water reservoirs, but several are still running lower than normal, even with the increased precipitation.
Data from the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has shown mild improvement in California’s drought, with 79% of the state in an extreme or exceptional drought as of Dec. 21, down from 88% three months ago.
“So, we’re off to an incredibly promising and exciting start,” Schwartz said, “but we need some cautious optimism going forward.”
ABC News’ Hope Osemwenkhae and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now officially Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time, Deadline reports.
The Tom Holland-led superhero flick has raked in $1.16 billion at the global box office so far, surpassing 2019’s Spider-Man: Far from Home, which totaled at $1.13 billion.
Through Tuesday, the film has made $516.4 million at the box office domestically and $644.9 million at the international box office. As previously reported, the film also had the second-highest opening ever at the domestic box office, taking in $260 million its debut weekend.
Since its release on December 17, No Way Home has also become the top grossing movie of the year internationally among all Hollywood releases, beating out the James Bond film No Time to Die.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a co-production of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, the latter of which is owned by ABC News’ parent company, Disney.
(NEW YORK) — Jury deliberations in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial resumed Wednesday morning. Maxwell was walked partway into the courtroom around 9:25 a.m., wearing a burgundy turtleneck and clutching a green folio.
While the trial is in its 18th day, the jury has deliberated for about 37 hours. And it appears that the jury is no rush to render a verdict before the New Year’s holiday.
The jury, which told Judge Alison Nathan at the end of the day Tuesday, that it was “in a good place,” sent a note to the judge Wednesday morning.
“May we please have the following transcripts,” the note said before listing several names: Shawn, Cimberly Espinoza, Amanda Young and Jason Richards.
When Nathan stepped off the bench after addressing the first note, Maxwell and defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim had a close conversation while standing. Maxwell’s sleeves were rolled up and her hands were clasped behind her back. A short time later she was huddled with her other attorneys, seated at the defense table.
“May we please have the Larry Visoski testimony?” the jury also asked in a note.
Visoski, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s private pilots, was the very first witness for the prosecution. He recalled accuser “Jane” on Epstein’s plane, along with her “piercing powder blue eyes.”
The jury has now asked for transcripts of testimony from a third of the witnesses.
Shawn was the boyfriend of an alleged Maxwell victim, identified only as Carolyn.
Espinoza was the first witness called by the defense. She was Maxwell’s assistant in 1996 in Epstein’s New York office. This is the first time the defense has asked for testimony from a defense witness.
Amanda Young and Jason Richards are both FBI agents on the Epstein-Maxwell case. The defense called the two agents to testify about inconsistent statements by the accusers.
In the same note, jurors also asked about their own schedules.
“May we have clarification regarding our schedule going forward. Are we required to continue our deliberations everyday including 12/31 and 1/1? We ask in order to plan our schedules accordingly,” the note said.
Jurors asked for testimony from an additional witness but neither the judge nor the lawyers could read the name. Upon clarification, the jury asked for the transcript of Elizabeth Loftus, the defense expert witness who testified about the frailty of memory.
Regarding the schedule, the judge said she would tell jurors that deliberations would continue as needed every day going forward, including Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, until there’s a verdict.
The judge said jurors could inform the court of a “substantial hardship because of unmovable commitments” but otherwise the judge said deliberations would continue uninterrupted by the holiday.
“By this I don’t mean to pressure you. You should take all the time that you need,” Judge Alison Nathan said in her reply.
Nathan cited the “high likelihood that a necessary member of the trial participants or one or more members of the jury would need to quarantine for ten days should they test positive.” She said that would result in “a substantial delay.”
(ATLANTA) — Georgia is planning to deploy the National Guard to hospitals and testing sites as the state set a single-day record for COVID-19 cases.
Over the next few days, the Georgia Department of Community Health said it will provide troop assignments depending on the centers that are in need of the most assistance.
Additionally, Gov. Brian Kemp will speak with nine hospital systems in the state Wednesday to determine where the most help is needed.
A spokesperson for Kemp’s office told WSB-TV there is not yet a breakdown of where troops will be sent.
It comes as Georgia recorded 13,670 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases Tuesday, the most reported in a single day and shattering the previous record of 10,165 set on Jan. 8.
Rising cases have led to an increased demand for testing. Drive-up centers have seen cars lined up for blocks with people waiting several hours to be screened.
Dr. Lynn Paxton, head of the Fulton County Board of Health, which includes Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the National Guard will help reduce the long waits for testing.
“Basically, the cavalry is coming in,” she said.
The governor’s office told WSB-TV it is encouraging to see data suggesting fully vaccinated people with a booster shot are well-protected and — if they do suffer a breakthrough infection — tend to develop only mild symptoms.
Kemp, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, continues to ask residents to get their shots, but is not planning to institute any vaccine or mask mandates.
“He will continue to urge Georgians to talk with their doctors about the benefits of getting the vaccine or receiving their booster shot,” a spokesperson for Kemp said in a statement.
“Ultimately, he feels that we must trust our citizens to do what’s right for themselves and their families. He will not be implementing any measures that shutter businesses or divide the vaccinated from the unvaccinated or the masked from the unmasked.”
Kemp’s office did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment.
This is not the first time that Georgia has asked for the National Guard’s help.
In August, during the state’s delta-fueled surge, Kemp deployed more than 2,500 National Guard troops to Georgia hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
The recent rising number of cases also led to Atlanta canceling the annual Peach Drop — Georgia’s New Year’s Eve ball drop celebration. Additionally, Emory University announced that spring semester classes will be remote until at least Jan. 31.
Jada Pinkett Smith is suffering from the autoimmune disorder alopecia, which causes hair loss. The MatrixResurrections star opened up about the disease Wednesday in an Instagram video.
“Look at this line right here,” Jada said as she ran her finger across a bald line patch along the center of her scalp. But now that she’s shaved her head, Smith plans to get creative: “Mama’s going to put some rhinestones in there. I’m going to make me a little crown.”
The 50-year-old entertainer captioned the video, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends.”
In other news, Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart are hilariously recapping the year in their series, 2021 and Done, which is now streaming on Peacock.
In their segment Viral Overload, “Snoop says, “Shortly after the Olympics, a new trend popped up on social media, the Hood Olympics.” Then, in a series of videos, several people try and fail to climb over a stack of milk crates.
“This was a move the crackheads told the dope dealers, if I do this you give me a 20 rock,” Snoop said.
Finally, after breaking up with Common, Tiffany Haddish is hoping to meet the right man. She went to her grandfather’s village in the African country of Eritrea and received a spa treatment that she hashtagged, “#vaginalsmoking.”
“They put butter in my hair, turmeric & honey on my face, sesame oil all over my body and butter in my hot box,” the comedian and actress commented on Instagram. “They put burning wood in a hole in the ground and you sit in the smoke and sweat. I am ready to be tasted. BRING IN THE MEN.”
Ed Sheeran reveals that his one-year-old daughter, Lyra, is growing like a weed and, with it, comes the additional stressors of parenthood.
Speaking to BBC Radio London recently, the Grammy winner remarked, “She just started walking now and, suddenly, we’re getting all the things that cover up the plugs and the thing that stops the cupboards from being opened.”
Ed said he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, are “learning stuff like that” in order to keep their curious toddler safe. “Before, you just sort of plonked her down somewhere and she was good,” he stated.
The “Shivers” singer loves being a father despite all the challenges that come with his new title because it’s making him a better person.
“I would say I’m very much different to who I was 18 months ago,” Ed explained. “There’s a big difference, but it wasn’t like they handed me Lyra and I went, ‘Oh! Now I’m this person.’ It just gradually happened.”
Ed added that he’s adapting and evolving into a better parent constantly because “every day is different! When one sort of stage of baby ends, the next stage begins. So, you suddenly have to learn the next stage.”
And while Lyra continues to grow and change, the singer said he already has a good idea of what kind of father he is going to become, telling the outlet, “I can see myself being the type of dad that — not like follows her around — but just pops up and just [says,] ‘Hey!'”
However, he was warned by one of the BBC presenters that Lyra might not enjoy that kind of attention when she hits her independent teenage years…but only time will tell if that’s true.
🎄 We’ve got some cracking shows for you next week.
Join @GabyRoslin with @edsheeran as he thanks the key workers & answers some of their burning questions 👀
A new year calls for fresh beginnings and brand-new experiences, and Carly Pearce is launching 2022 in style by making her first-ever appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
That’s not the only first that’s taking place with this performance: It’ll also be Carly’s television debut of “Diamondback,” one of the songs on her latest album, 29: Written in Stone.
“Diamondback” is the lead single off of Written in Stone, the full-length version of a project that started with her 29 EP. One of the co-writers on the song is Carly’s fellow artist and longtime friend, Kelsea Ballerini.
The song tells a story of heartbreak and a marriage gone wrong — one that’s deeply familiar to Carly, whose 2020 divorce from fellow artist Michael Ray is a major source of inspiration for her 29 project. Not only was Kelsea a writer on this song, but she helped Carly through that painful chapter in her life, the singer told Peoplein early 2021.
During a time when Carly was overwhelmed by how public her divorce was, and worried that many people would judge her, Kelsea presented things from a different angle: “Do you know how many people you’re going to help?” Kelsea pointed out to her friend at the time.
To watch Carly’s TV debut of “Diamondback,” tune into her performance on Jimmy Fallon on January 3 at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Go-Go’s had five West Coast concerts scheduled for this week and next, spanning from a December 28 show in San Francisco through a January 3 performance in San Diego, but all of the events have been postponed because a member of the band’s team recently tested positive for COVID-19.
A message from The Go-Go’s announcing the unfortunate news explains, “ALTHOUGH WE ARE, OF COURSE, VERY DISAPPOINTED, we will be following proper protocols and postponing our upcoming west coast dates.”
The band adds, “We will be announcing new dates VERY soon and look forward to getting back to performing and celebrating with everyone. WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON, AND SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!”
The three other postponed concerts were scheduled for tonight, December 29, in Los Angeles, and on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Las Vegas.
The Go-Go’s were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on October 30 in Cleveland and performed a three-song set at the ceremony. They also played a special club show on December 14 the the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
The band’s next scheduled concerts will take place this June, when the group will serve as Billy Idol‘s opening act at a series of U.K. shows.
